The Career Corner: "Mommy I wanna be a writer"

Ever since I came to college, I have been searching for a field/career where I would be able to do three things;

• Make a decent amount of money,
• express myself creatively while
• having fun and make a difference.

It just so happened that after taking Advertising 300 with Steve Hall, I discovered the wonderful world of advertising. I always loved the glamorous, fun and “sexy” perception of the advertising world portrayed in movies like What Women Want, and How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days. (Matthew McConaughey is the man. No homo. I care not what you think about that)

But yeah, I always liked a good commercial and how it made me laugh or poke at my curiosity about a product. But beyond that, I always enjoyed the way words, either spoken or on paper, could move people; the way a quote in the right context could stick with you for so long and even change your perspective on things; the way lyrics in a song could seem so profound, you read them over and over, analyzing and re-analyzing the writers real meaning.

I actually decided that I wanted to specialize in copywriting after reading the preface of the book required for Advertising 450: Creative Strategy and Tactics, Hey Whipple, Squeeze This. Alex Bogusky says, “Failure in advertising most often comes from the lack of the basic skill in finding the right words. The ability to find the words to write down an idea or present an idea in the most compelling way possible; that’s the wisdom that’s in this book—in words.” I’ve always been pretty good at finding the right words, or at least I like to think so. I believe that it’s because my words are generally from the heart.

Honesty is the hidden persuader that I believe Vance Packard forgot to emphasize way back in 1957 when he wrote the book The Hidden Persuaders. I believe in the power of honesty. I can feel it, hear it and even see it. But then again, I have x-ray vision, I don’t know about you. ^_^

On another note, writers are often unappreciated because people forget that there are people who have to come up with the slogans that ring in our ears and people who contribute even to words our president speaks; and they don’t just come up with them overnight. (Most of the time) Jon Favreau (Only 28...simply amazing) is the speech writer who co-wrote president Obama’s memorable inauguration speech. That speech echoed MLK’s “I Have a Dream” speech, and Abe Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address” and touched many hearts and souls all over the world. I’ve never been one to desire fame or be in the public spotlight, and I think that copywriting is an area of advertising that might be in line with that. Maybe one day though, I’ll have the recognition of that of a Leo Burnett, David Ogilvy or Bill Bernbach. But I’m content now knowing that I’ve got some idea of what I want to be doing with my life in the near future.